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Thestral
A Thestral is a breed of winged horses with a skeletal appearance, reptilian features, and wide, leathery wings that resemble a bat's. They are very rare, and are considered dangerous by the Ministry of Magic. Thestrals are commonly (and falsely) known as omens of misfortune by many wizards due to the fact that they are only visible to those who have witnessed death and fully accepted the concept.Chapter 10, 17, 21, 33 and 34 of Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixMagical Beasts in Hiding; Ministry of Magic Classification; an A-Z of Fantastic Beasts: Winged Horses in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Thestrals can be domesticated and mounted, so they are often used as an alternative to brooms, Apparition and other methods of transportation. Once trained, they are very diligent and will quickly carry their owners wherever they wish to go. Due to their classification as XXXX (dangerous), only experienced wizards should try to handle Thestrals. Breeding as well as owning these beasts may be discouraged or even illegal without Ministry consent; in fact, wizards that live in areas not protected against Muggles are forced by law to perform Disillusionment Charms on their Thestrals regularly. Description Physical appearance The wizards who capable of seeing them often only describe these creatures as being sinister and spooky. This is mingly rather dull, though Professor states that they are "clever", and, in These maals can usually be found in dark envents, and forests are tral habitat. They communicate with each other thrrill kind of skriek that reslarge bird. They appear to be loyal creatures, able to discern a friend from an enemy. Thestrals would forcefully attack anyone or anything they see as a threat and, in the unusual case of domesticated Thestrals, any enemy of its owners.Chapter 4, 37 and epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows In the Battle of Hogwarts, Hogwarts' trained flock of Thestrals cooperated with Buckbeak, the Hippogriff, to attack the Giants fighting for [Voldemort. It's unclear whether or not wild herds can similarly cooperate with other species. Diet Thestrals are carnivorous animals and are attracted to the smell of blood. Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank mentions that they often attack birds. This indicates that, naturally, they hunt not only for food on the ground, but also pursue flying prey. The Thestrals that live within the Hogwarts grounds, in the Forbidden Forest, are properly fed and well trained. They don't attack other creatures or students unless seriously disturbed. Abilities The Thestral tail hair is a powerful and tricky substance that can be mastered only by a witch or wizard capable of facing death. It should be noted that this substance can be used as a core in a wand's conception and it was used to create the most powerful wand known by wizards, the Elder Wand. The most well known ability of these beasts is their invisibility to those who haven’t seen death. In other words, they are only visible to people who have seen someone dying and fully accepted, understood and internalized the concept. Thestrals have an extraordinary sense of smell and will easily recognize the smell of blood and fresh flesh, even from a large distance. They also have quite a useful sense of direction. The Thestral can understand exactly where their riders need to go. If their riders have a certain destination in mind, they only need to say the destination and the creature will diligently carry them to the intended location - much like owls do with letters. Their powerful wings are capable of lifting, at least, the burden of two humans plus their own weight. Known people who can see Thestrals Presumably most of the deceased members in the Second Wizarding War of the Order of the Phoenix such as Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black could see Thestrals by the end of the First Wizarding War. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Bill Weasley were also likely to have been able to see them, as they rode Thestrals for the Battle of the Seven Potters, and would most likely have picked them only if they saw them. After the Second Wizarding War, it is likely that many students of Hogwarts as well as other participants in the Battle of Hogwarts could see Thestrals after witnessing a great many casualties in battle, including the death of Lord Voldemort himself. Behind the scenes *J.K. Rowling stated that the core of the Elder Wand is a Thestral tail hair.J.K.Rowling Official Site: Extra Stuff *J.K. Rowling also stated that the reason Harry was not able to see Thestrals until the beginning of his fifth year was that when he left Hogwarts in June he had not yet fully come to terms with Cedric's death. *Harry also had the chance to witness at least two people die before the death of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. His mother was murdered by Lord Voldemort when he was one, and Professor Quirrell in his first year. Despite this, Harry is not able to see the Thestrals until the beginning of his fifth year. J. K. Rowling has explained this stating that he was in his crib when his mother was murdered, and passed out before Quirrell died.http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=21 It's also possible that when his parents died, Harry was too young to truly understand the concept of accepting someone's death. This creates a paradox in the films, since the first film appears to show Harry seeing Quirrell die. *It may be possible that Bill, Fleur and Kingsley Shacklebolt all saw someone die as they all rode a Thestral during the Battle of the Seven Potters. The explanation is that Kingsley Shacklebolt most likely saw a death during the First Wizarding War. However, who Fleur and Bill saw die is Unknown. It is possible, that, like Hermione, Fleur could not see Thestrals, since she lived in France where the First Wizarding War wasn't as effective, and she was only 4 years old when Voldemort was defeated the first time. *There’s an interesting contradiction in the film. The Thestrals are depicted as having no hair at all, theoretically that would make the existence of an Elder Wand impossible in the film adaptations. *Thestrals also don’t seem to have fangs in the film, at least in the young foals. Instead they have a pointed beak which they use to grab food and then they swallow it, almost without chewing, much like birds eat worms. *Neville Longbottom does not seem to be able to see Thestrals in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. *In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix, Ginny, Luna, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Harry all see Sirius die, while in the book, Ginny, Luna, Ron and Hermione are in a different room when Sirius dies, and though Harry and Neville see him die, they can both already see Thestrals. *It should also be noted that in the film, Hermione doesn't see Fred die, and Ron has already seen Peter Pettigrew die. Coincidentally, Peter Pettigrew is never shown dying, just being hit by a spell shot from Dobby's wand. *It is unclear if Nymphadora Tonks can see Thestrals, before she died, as she is unconscious when Sirius died and she doesn't see Alastor Moody die, though she might have died later in the Battle of Hogwarts and might have witnessed Remus Lupin die or others. In the film, she is standing in a tower, and it seems that she and Remus die at the same time, as they're seen reaching out for each other's hands at their last living shot, and then their hands are seen close together when their bodies are shown later, though this might just be a coincidence. So she can most likely would have been able to see the Thestrals if she had lived long enough in the books, but probably not in the films. *Even though Hermione Granger has ridden on Thestrals twice, she can't see them until late March 1998. *Coincedentally, if different parts of the films and the books were considered canon, Hermione wouldn't be able to see Thestrals until she saw Severus Snape die, and she wouldn't have seen anyone else. This happens because she doesn't see Dobby die in the book, and doesn't see Fred Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange, or Tom Riddle die in the films. Appearances *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)'' *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' "Chapter 8 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)'' *''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape'' *''Harry Potter LEGO Sets'' Notes and references fr:Sombral ru:Фестрал fi:Thestral Category:Battle of Hogwarts participants Category:Creatures Category:Thestrals Category:Transportation Category:XXXX Creatures Category:Winged Horses Category:Forbidden Forest